Coupling or splicing device for curtain poles and ornaments therefor



Oct. 27, 1931. c, w scH 1,829,147

COUPLING OR SPLICING DEVICE FOR CURTAIN POLES AND OHNAMENTS THEREFOR Filed April 14, 1930 Patented Oct. 27, 1931 Unites STATES Parent Fries CHARLES W. KER-SCH, F STURGIS, IYIICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR T0 KIBSCH COMPANY, OF STURGIS, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN COUPLING OR SPLICING DEVICE FOR CURTAIN POLES AND ORNAMENT'S THEREFOR Application filed April 14,

y, and the like.

The main object of the invention is to provide means which may be very easily and quickly associated with pole-sections to be spliced or with a pole and an end ornament to be mounted thereon, for detachably connecting the same and also permitting relative rotation threof in order to permit the end ornament, as in the case of a curtain pole of polygonal crosssection, to be readily and properly positioned with respect to the pole.

A further object of the invention is to provide means of the type aforesaid which includes a resilient member for yieldinglyfirmly frictionally engaging a companion member to effect the type of association indicated in the'neXt preceding paragraph hereof, and which is further so constructed as to be easily permanently mounted in one of the members to be associated, as is hereinafter fully described.

A suitable embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation, partly in central longitudinal section, showing a curtain-pole and an end ornament therefor equipped with coupling means constructed in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary detail central longitudinal section on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3.is a transverse section on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4c is a fragmentary perspective View showing the end of a curtain-pole of polygonal cross-section equipped with one member of the means of the invention.

Fig. 5 is an end view of an end ornament for a curtain-pole equipped with the companion member of the means of this invention.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of said members prior to mounting the same in the end ornament.

The present invention is primarily designed and intended for use in detachably 1930. Serial No. 444,325.

associating end ornaments with curtain-poles but may, obviously, be otherwise employed.

The trade practice with reference to ourtain-poles and end ornaments is as follows:

The curtain-poles are sold, for example, in twelve-foot lengths, by the manufacturers to interior decorators or to merchants dealing in draperies and drapery hardware or in the latter exclusive of draperies or fabrics therefor. The end ornaments for such poles are sold independently of the latter and heretofore have been usually equipped with wooden screws having projecting threaded shanks.

The dealer in such poles and ornaments sells the poles in required lengths to suit windows of varying widths and these poles lengths are then drilled at the ends to receive the wood screw ends projecting from the o1- naments.

The latter must be removed atintervals to remove or mount the customary drapery supporting rings from or upon the pole and as the said screws enter longitudinally of the grain of the wood, which is generally sof such as white pine, bass, or poplar, the threads formed in such wood are very easily stripped and frequent removal and replacement of the end ornaments quickly strips the same.

In the case of round poles and round ornaments, this stripping of the threads is not as apt to occur as it is in the case of poles of polygonal cross-section and end ornaments which must be adjusted to a given position with respect to a curtain-pole face. In such instances, the opposed faces of the pole and ornament, which are required to be brought into contact with each other in all instances, may attain this contact and find the ornament improperly positioned relatively to the pole, so that to bring it to proper position the ornament must be given a further partial revolution relatively to the pole and this additional partial rotation usually strips the threads of the bore in the pole end. This is sought to be remedied by pulling out the screw end, inserting a glue-coated dowel into the opening in the pole end and thereupon repeating the first operation. Other crude remedies are resorted to but with only moderate or no appreciable success.

The art has, therefore, long sought a means for efliciently coupling poles with end ornaments which are suitable from the standpoint'of the dealer with respect to ease of association with the pole ends since'theassociation of the said means with the end ornaments-may be easily effected at the fractory. I Oheapness and efficiency; are also requisites of such means.

' The dealer usuallypossesses no equipment suitable for accurately drilling axial holes in the pole ends to overcome the frequently crooked grain-of the wood. A simple, templet will enable the dealer to center punch the pole ends and it is particularly desirable that he may complete the work of associating a coupling member with the pole, after efl'ect ing such center-punching, by the use of a hammer only.

My invention, therefore, comprises a male member adapted to be driven into a pole end by means of an ordinary hammer end, fur: t ller, comprehends a member which is not required. to be driven in axially aligned with A the pole. Hence said male member comthe. poleand so that the body portion 2 will be positioned out of axial alignment with the pole. To permit correction of the position of saidbody portion 2, the male member is made of soft steel and, because of" the larger diameter of the body portion 2 than the shank 1 and because the latter is embedded in the wood, the bend in the male member required to effect such correction will occur at the unction ofthe shank 1 with the body portion 2.

The female member of the device is shown in Fig.6 and consists of'a single stripof sheet metal, the end portions of which are: bent to provide V-sh-aped' middleportions 4 and side flanges 5, the latter being'disposed ina common p1ane.- The angle formed by the side f as eitherja c'oupling' or splicing device and may readily be adapted for many uses.

wallsof the \l -sha ped portionis substantially ninety degrees, said walls being'disposed at angles of one hundred thirty-five degrees to the side flanges 5. The hollows of the V- shaped formations 4 of the respective end portionsof the strip are opposed to each other upon bending the intermediate or middleportion of the strip to form the loop 6.

When the female member leaves the press, the said arms or end portions thereof are slightly divergent as shown in Fig. 6, and when said arms or end portions are forced toward each other so that the opposed faces of the flanges 5 are engaged with each other,

the V-shaped formations form a sleeve of substantially square cross-section and of a diam- .eter slightly less than that of the body portion 20f the male member. The outer end of the latter is rounded so that itm'ay be readily forced into said sleeve.

The sleeve is mounted in the end ornament 7 by first drilling into the latter, at theproper oint, a hole 8 of a diameter equal, substan tially, to the diagonal of the square sleeve formed as aforesaid. A tool similar to an ordinary nail punchand of diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the square sleeve is now inserted between the arms or end portions of said female member as the loop 6'ofthe latter projects into the h'ole'8 and, by means of a hammer applied to the outer end of said tool, the said female member is driven into the hole 8, the side flanges 5' being brought into face contact with each other under'the influence of resistance of entry of the female member into said hole, said side flanges 5 cutting their own grooves in the pole as is clearly shown in Fig. 5. The depth of the hole 8 is preferably equal to or slightly greater than the length of said female menib er,v the latter being securely heidagainst withdrawal by the engagement of the flanges 5 in their grooves;

' The end ornament is preferably used as the tool best adapted for bending the malemember to bring" the body portion 2- thereof into axial alignment with the pole 9.

In the instance illustrated, thepole is of substantially square cross-section and the ornament T is a flat sided member which must be brought into position so that its side faces are parallel with the two vertically disposed side faces of the-pole; The engagement of the body portion 2 by the sleeve member permits the ornament to be rotated relatively to the pole to any desired position as will be obvious. V p I In instances wheretthe device is to be used for splicing piecesof poletogether, the opposed end faces of said pieces are coated with glue and the faces brought into proper alignment by relative rotation whereafter they aresuitably forced into and heldin close contact until the glue has The device: of this'invention may be defined 7 I claim as my invention; u 1. A coupling device including twomembers,-onetliereof beingv a female member and the other thereof being male member, the female member-being adapted to be embedded in one of the elements to be coupled and the male member to be partially embedded in the other of said elements, one of said members being flexible, radially and the other thereof inflexible radially, and said respective members being of respectively different cross-sectional shape throughout the zone of their interengagement.

2. A coupling device including two members, one thereof being a female member and the other thereof being a male member, the female member being adapted to be embedded in one of the elements to be coupled and the male member to be partially embedded in the other of said elements, one of said members being flexible radially and the other thereof inflexible radially, one of said members being cylindrical throughout its length and the other thereof polygonal in cross-section throughout its length.

3. A coupling device including two members, one thereof being a female member and the other thereof being a male member, the female member being adapted to be embedded in one of the elements to be coupled and the male member to be partially embedded in the other of said elements, one of said members being flexible radially and the other thereof inflexible radially, one of said members being cylindrical and the other thereof polygonal in cross-section, said members being normally of slightly diflerent diameters, the flexible member being adapted to yield to pressure incident to engagement with the other thereof to thereby frictionally engage the same while maintaining it axiallv aligned therewith.

4. A coupling device comprising a flexible polygonal sheet metal sleeve adapted to be snugly received is a cylindrical bore of an element to be coupled, a cylindrical male member adapted to be mounted upon the other of the elements to be coupled, said male element being of slightly larger diameter than said female member. 7

5. A coupling device comprising a flexible polygonal sheet metal sleeve adapted to be snugly received in a cylindrical bore of an element to be coupled, a male member including a cylindrical body portion of slightly larger diameter than said sleeve and a shank portion of smaller cross-section than said body portion and adapted to be driven into the other of said elements to be coupled, said male member being bendable at the junction of the shank and body portions for adjustment of the latter.

6. A coupling device including a male member and a female member, the latter comprising two equal opposed sheet metal members forming a sleeve of polygonal cross-section and equipped with diametrically opposed side formations, an element to be coupled provided with a cylindrical pocket of a diameter adapted to snugly receive said sleeve, said side formations adapted to form diametrically opposed grooves in the wall of said pocket as said sleeve is forced into the latter and constituting means for preventing withdrawal of said sleeve from said pocket, said male member being cylindrical and of slightly larger diameter than the minimum diameter of said sleeve, and being adapted to be rigidly mounted upon the other element to be coupled.

7. A coupling device including a unitary sheet metal member having a loop formation midway between its ends and opposed end portions having side flanges contacting with each other, said side flanges bordering opposed V-shaped formations of said portions coacting to form a substantially square sleeve adapted to be received in a cylindrical pocket of a diameter substantially equal to the diagonal of said sleeve, said side flanges being adapted to be received in diametrically opposed grooves in the wall of said pocket.

8. A coupling device comprising a sleeve expansible throughout its length adapted to be embedded in one of a pair of elements to be coupled, and a member adapted to be secured to the other of said elements and including a projection of cross-sectional dimensions so proportioned with respect to the inner dimensions of said sleeve to cause the latter to be expanded as said projection telescopically engages in said sleeve thereby causing the latter to hug tightly said projection to resist withdrawal from and rotation of said projection relatively to said sleeve.

9. A coupling device including telescopically interengageable male and female members, one of the latter being radially flexible throughout its length and the other thereof radially inflexible throughout its length, said flexible member being flexed by the rigid member and thereby frictionally held against rotation relatively thereto and against withdrawal therefrom.

In testimony whereof, I have set my hand this 7th day of April, 1930.

CHARLES W. KIRSCH. 

